This is a BLOG from Mark Cochrane of Business Strategies Group in Hong Kong. We've been keeping a close watch on B2B media and business information in Asia since 2000 and look forward to sharing insights with you.

Friday, December 17, 2010

News this week: Los Angeles, 14th December: UBM Canon has announced plans to launch its MEDTEC and Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) trade show brands in both India and Brazil.

The two-day MEDTEC India Conference & Exhibition will be held in Mumbai at the Grand Hyatt Hotel from the 19th to 20th October next year. The event will reportedly feature around 100 international suppliers and will cover the latest in medical best practices, materials, design and manufacturing technology. MD&M Brazil will take place in São Paulo in June 2012.

News this week: Sydney, 7th December: Reed Exhibitions has announced the acquisition of Australia-based specialist design trade exhibition company, Life Instyle – the company’s portfolio includes trade events, Kids Instyle and First Instyle.

Founded by Thibaud and Claire Cau-Cecile, Life Instyle will be managed by newly recruited exhibition manager Tracy Harris and her team at Reed Exhibitions Australia. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

News this week: Hong Kong, 9thDecember: Hong Kong-listed, B2B e-commerce platform Alibaba.com announced in a company press release that the company will pay out a HK$1.1 billion special cash dividend - or HK$0.22 per share to registered shareholders.

Alibaba.com CEO David Wei stated that company management was not satisfied with the company’s stock performance in the market and will continue to implement a salary freeze for staff of director-level and above. The share price of Alibaba.com has fallen about 9.5% over the past three months, against an overall 9.4% rise in Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index.

News this week: Bangkok, 13th December: Pico Thailand, the Thai-listed subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Pico Far East Holdings, released its results for the year ended 31st October 2010. The company posted revenues of US$29.8 million, compared with US$19.4 million last year – an increase of 54%. In addition, the company recorded a net profit of US$1.6 million this year – a significant improvement compared to a loss of US$965,000 last year.

News this week: Los Angeles, 13th December: According to Foliomag, United Business Media (UBM) will reportedly revise its initial plan to merge businesses acquired from Canon Communication with their existing EE Times Group. The restructuring will now result in the formation of two separate business units – the UBM Canon Group and UBM Electronics Group.

The most notable change in management comes in the departure of veteran executive Ron Wall from the company, who was to lead UBM Canon’s overall publishing group as senior vice president. Another Canon and UBM veteran, Steve Corrick, will take over as vice president and executive director of the UBM Canon Group.

Other structural changes will result in the electronics-focused products acquired by Canon earlier this year from Reed Business Information separated from other Canon businesses and merged with the EE Times group. This will collectively become the UBM Electronics Division. Also, publishing businesses from Canon Communications will become the Canon (Publishing) Division.

News this week: Hong Kong, 10th December: According to a TSNN article, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) has released the findings of a recently completed report titled The Visa Study: the Economic Impact of International Non-Participation in the Exhibition Industry Due to U.S. Visa Issues. The research was conducted by Oxford Economics with results based on a U.S. nationwide survey as well as the CEIR Exhibition Industry Census.

The report’s key findings highlighted that the U.S. economy would see an increase of US$2.4 billion worth of business sales (US$2.6 billion including sales to foreign exhibitors) if the U.S. eased its current visa restrictions. The figures include US$1.5 billion in business-to-business trade, US$540 million in registration fees and exhibition space spending, as well as a US$295 million boost to visitor spending. The report estimates 116,000 international participants are lost due to these visa issues.